A teenager is raising the sporting bar for Palestinians – by becoming the first female runner in the Gaza Strip.
Inas Nofal , a 15-year-old from the Mughazi Refugee Camp in Gaza, first started jogging eight months ago after watching running programmes and competitions in the television. She fell in love with the sport and now trains every day in a stadium, on the beach and even in the hills around of her home city of Al Zahra in central Gaza, local media reports.
Nofal has won first place in the 800 metre race at Beit Hanoun, and although closures make it difficult to leave the Gaza Strip she plans to compete in the Bethlehem Marathon next month, too.
Conservatives attitudes mean female participation in sports is not the norm in her community, but Nofal wants to challenge her critics and says she will proudly represent the people of Palestine in competitions around the world. She has even committed to encouraging a love for running among the girls in her city, and has started a female-only sports club which she hopes to coach.
In an interview with local television station 'Dunya al Watan', Nofal’s coach Sami Natil said he wasn’t worried by prejudice against women's exercise and called on Gaza authorities to encourage more girls to participate in sports.
